Wasteland: A New Threat
by Born 2 Save the Doctor
Summary: This story takes place after the 1st Epic Mickey video game. Toons start to disappear after taking odd jobs in Tomorrow City. Rumors spread like wildfire most of which involve a certain "Mad Doctor" and…Blot experimentation? Rated "T" for 13 and up due to some possibly dark and violent scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: An unexpected visitor

It was dark. A dim light bulb dangled from the ceiling flickering occasionally. She couldn't move, couldn't think, but could unfortunately feel. What was she doing here again? An unsettling chuckle emanated from a dark corner of the room as a sinister shadow slowly made its way towards her. Instantly she felt a pang of searing agony rack her body as an unnatural green substance was shot up her veins. Oh, now she remembered.

"That was very noble of you" The man said in mock-admiration. "Making sure your little friend escaped, saving her from the trauma of watching your…transformation take place and the life drain out of you. Ever. So. Slowly." He purred, brushing a single finger across her cheek. "…Or worse" He continued, "Having the process performed on _her_."

The girl clenched her teeth and looked down, tearing her eyes away from the her capture's intense gaze. _"Little Penny is safe."_ she told herself, _"That's all that matters." _A single tear graced her pale features as she braced herself for another injection a stifled whimper escaping her trembling lips.

Heavenly aromas drifted through the pink, girlish house and were picked up by a certain cartoon rabbit who traced the source to a pot being stirred intently by a gentle black and white cat wearing a soft pink skirt. She stopped briefly to cut up more vegetables and began putting them inside the pot while the rabbit attempted to sneak a carrot while her back was turned. She turned around catching him red-handed and playfully slapped his hand away from the food. Pausing the two could hear a rather frantic knock coming from the front door,

"Oswald dear, could you get that?"Ortensia asked.

"Sure thing honey" he replied making his way to the door. The knocking continued followed by a rather desperate sounding scritch-scratch on the girly pink door.

"I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" He shouted a bit irritated now. Finally he reached the door and swung it open nearly knocking over the intruder and revealing a very strange sight indeed. Standing in front of him was a small, rather scrawny, cartoon cat not unlike Ortensia, her face was covered in dirt and smudged by what looked like tear streaks. She couldn't have been over 7 years old and was dressed in tatters, a small torn dress which seemed to have completely lost all of its original material and now consisted entirely of mismatched patches. The girl wasn't even wearing shoes so her feet were covered in cuts and bruises much like the rest of her body. She was leaning heavily on her right leg, holding on to the railing for support, she looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes.

"A-are y-y-you O-Oswald?" the small cat stuttered her wide eyes darting around nervously.

"Y-yeah! Yeah I'm Oswald! What's wrong? Are you alright?" He replied a bit startled.

"I-I n-n-need help I… sh-she told m-m-me t-to b-b-but I-I didn't want…and t-t-then she…and I…" She was trembling violently now and kept looking over her shoulder as if someone were planning to ambush her from behind.

"Ortensia! Come here quick!" Oswald shouted into the house followed by a hurried pitter-patter of feet coming from the kitchen.

"Y-you have to help me! Please! You have to save her, th-they're going to kill her! PLEASE!" she screamed bursting into tears.

"I'm here Oswald what's—OH MY!" Ortensia gasped, stunned as the small toon collapsed on their front porch.


	2. Chapter 2: The Job

_Chapter 2: The Job_

_(Flashback)_

She didn't like it, not one bit. No details, no information just a sign that read: "Help Wanted, little to no experience required, for details visit the old moonliner rocket station or contact 256-479-1539." Not even the slightest hint to what she'd be doing or who for. It all seemed a little to fishy for the teenaged rabbit who at the moment was fiddling with a loose string on her dingy t-shirt. But options were limited and they were fresh out of E-tickets so it was either this or starve to death. To make matters worse all the phone lines were down and repairs weren't in the near future so she had no choice but to walk right in through the front door. Just perfect.

"Ruby, where are we going?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a small cartoon cat in a brown, slightly torn, dress staring up at her with those innocent eyes of hers.

"I just need to...uh, see someone about a job." She wanted to put off telling penny exactly where they were going for as long as she could, there had been rumors going around about toons disappearing by the old station and she didn't want to freak her out and honestly, she wasn't too fond of the place either. She wished she didn't have to take penny with her but it wasn't as if she could just leave her by herself, the small shelter/hideout she had managed to put together from left over rubble was far from safe, but she supposed neither was this, at least this way she could keep an on her.

"What kinda job?" She inquired,

"I don't know yet."

"Who you gonna see?"

"Don't know that either."

"...But where are we _going_?" The young toon persisted.

Ruby sighed, it was now or never.

"...and don' tell me you don't know that eider because I know we havin' just been walking 'round in circles...have we?"

"No we haven't." She replied letting out a soft chuckle.

"Sooooo", Penny continued, "Where 'er we going?"

"Wellll", Ruby started choosing her words carefully, "It'll just be a real quick trip but, uh...we're, uh...we're...we're headed for the rocket station."

"WHAT!?" Penny replied horror-struck,

"Now I know what you're thinking but just—"

"But just nothing! We can't go there! Everyone says it's haunted, nobody who goes in there ever comes out! Somebody 'll come and get us and, and..."

"No they won't be able to get you." Ruby said thinking fast.

"W-wa-why not?" Penny stuttered momentarily distracted from her doomsday rant.

"Because...I'm gonna get you first!" She said grabbing up the frightened cat in a fist full of fur and tickling her resulting in an eruption of laughter from Penny. Ruby continued on like this for as long as she could hoping it would make Penny forget about the station. Eventually she put her down and the small toon collapsed in a fit of giggles trying catch her breath. But by the look on Penny's face once she had she knew that was going to take a lot more than tickling to make her forget THAT.

"Uh, ok how about uh...oh! How about I let you ride on my back, I'll carry you the whole way!"

"OKAY!" Penny responded enthusiastically the smile back on her face.

Once again Ruby picked her up and placed her gently on her back. They walked on this for a while, Penny resting her head sleepily on her ride's shoulder while Ruby hummed what she hoped was a comforting tune until the small intruder riding on her back finally broke the silence.

"Will he be nice?" she asked.

"What? Will who be nice?"

"The man you're going to see, will he be nice?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't met them yet and it could be a she you know."

"You mean you don't even know if it's a boy or a girl?!"

"No not really."

"Wow, you really don't know anything about this do you?" Penny replied awestruck.

"Nope." She said with a sigh. "That's why I'm coming to see them."

"But I thought grown-ups was supposed to know everything."

"I'm only 14."

"Exactly!" Penny replied in an exasperated tone as Ruby let out a small chuckle.

"Huh!" Penny let out a quick gasp as they turned the next corner revealing the rather ominous looking rocket station.

"R-R-Ruby, I'm s-scared." The fragile cat whispered as she tightened her grip on the teenaged rabbit, trembling nervously.

"Don't worry, everything...everything's fine just, bear with me." Ruby reassured hoping she was right.

"But what kind of job would they need here? This place is all yucky and blech and creepy. Who would want to _own_ a business here?" Penny inquired skeptically.  
Ruby sighed, she had to admit the place did look pretty run-down not to mention rather creepy.

"That's probably why they need me," she said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, "to help clean the place up and fix everything."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense...sort of." The skeptical toon replied still not entirely convinced.  
The eerie sounds of metal creaking in the dry wind could be heard as they cautiously approached the old station. The only other noises to be heard were the shallow breathes of the two nervous toons and the crunching of scrap metal under their feet of which Ruby collected as much she could.

"Well I, uh... I guess this is it." She said as they reached the door, " I kinda need you to get off my back now Pen."

"Fine." she responded with a sigh as she unwillingly got off of Ruby. "Can I ride up there again on the way back?" The small toon asked hopefully.

"Sure." Ruby replied even though she was already pretty exhausted from the last time.

"Should we, like, knock or something?" Penny asked.

"I guess so." The toon rabbit responded as she reached out a hand and tapped gently on the door...which came completely off its hinges and fell backwards into the station revealing an empty room that looked like it hadn't been touched in months.

"This place isn't just run down," Ruby thought a shiver running down her spine, "It's _abandoned_."

"That's it!" She said decisively, "We're getting out of here." With that she scooped up the toon cat and turned on her heel to go down the stairs they had come. But no sooner had she taken her first step than the stairs started to recline up towards the doorway forcing the two back inside the station. The stairs fit perfectly in the doorway and were secured by a small metallic click blocking their only way out. Ruby was having a hard time keeping it together now for Penny who at the moment was having a total nervous break-down.

"I'm scared Ruby, I'm scared! I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared I'm scarhahared!" The fragile toon whispered desperately, burying her face in Ruby's tattered shirt and soaking it with tears as she clung to the teenaged rabbit for dear life.

"Shhhhh, sh sh sh, it's ok it's ok Penny, everything's alright." Ruby said in what she hoped was a calming tone as she comfortingly stroked the velvety fur atop the frightened cat's trembling head. "Hey listen this place is old and rundown and...we probably just set something off when we walked in by accident." She continued reassuringly for herself as much as Penny.

"Oh I assure you that was no accident." Both girls nearly jumped out of their skin and spun around revealing what the two previously thought to be an empty chair now occupied, its inhabitant staring at them with obvious relish.

"Th-the Mad Doctor?" Ruby squeaked now almost as terrified as Penny.

"Why yes, it's nice to see that at least the good citizens of Wasteland haven't forgotten me, and that I seemed to have made a..._lasting_ impression." He said taking in the toons's petrified faces.

"_This can't be happening, this can't be happening!"_Ruby thought as she slowly began backing towards the opposite wall throwing a protective arm around Penny, determined to keep the fragile toon out of harm's way despite her own overwhelming fear.

"I assume you're here for the job application?" The Doctor said in a matter-a-fact tone getting up from his chair and drawing himself up to his full height so that he towered over the cowering toons.

"Well," He continued a sickly smile spreading across his chapped lips, "You're hired." With that Ruby felt a sharp pain in her forearm as if something were trying to force its way up her veins. Suddenly she couldn't think straight her mind felt groggy and jumbled, her knees buckled no longer able to support the weight of the rest of her body. Her vision was blurring, she fell to her knees, her body about as useful as jell-O. Ruby fought for consciousness using every once of strength she had left but it was no use. The last thing she saw was the terrified expression on Penny's face and the petrified look in those wide, innocent eyes of her's before they roled into the back of her head and the two were plunged into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3:Penny

It was warm. The small toon was curled up in a tight ball purring quietly in her sleep. She felt a soft blanket cocooning her fragile body as she snuggled closer into the plush couch. _"I must be dreaming."_ she thought sleepily letting out a sigh of content. She could just make out the quiet murmurs of a hushed conversation going on nearby.

"I wrapped up those gashes as best I could."

"Oh good…hope she's alright."

"What do you suppose happened to her?"

"Don't know, poor kid looked like a dear in headlights when I first saw her. She was talking about a mile a minute, going on about this girl…"

"What did she say?"

"Something about the kid telling her to something but she didn't want to and how I had to help save her because, well… they were going to kill her or something."

"Oh dear."

"I know, and she seemed pretty urgent about it too."

"The poor thing, I wonder what's got her so spooked."

"Yeah me to…" The rabbit replied clouds of dread fogging his worried thoughts.

"Oh hold on I think she's waking up."

The scrawny cat grumbled and turned over on the couch wanting to savor the comfort of her dream for a long as possible as Ortensia made her way towards her and began to gently stroke the top of her furry head. Reluctantly the exhausted toon cracked open two sleepy eyes. _"Wait a second,"_ she thought, _"I'm awake but…I'm still here on this nice comfy bed…er couch." _Curiousshe tilted her head up revealing the kind face of a certain cartoon cat staring down at her.

"Hey there sleepy head." Ortensia said softly. "You finally awake?" The young toon nodded looking slightly dazed.

"Oh good you had us worried for a minute there."

"Yeah," Oswald said making his way towards them, "You sure gave us quite a scare."

"I-I'm sorry! I d-d-didn't mean to! Please don't hurt me!" The frightened toon blurted out holding up her battered hands as a feeble means of protection.

"Hey-hey it's alright I'm not gonna hurt you, I didn't mean it like that. We just wanted to make sure you were alright is all, you looked pretty banged up." He said upset that he had frightened her.

"R-really?" She asked.

"Really." Oswald responded taking a seat next to her on the couch.

"What's your name sweetie?" Ortenisa asked as she reached for the first aid kit.

"P-P-Penny…Penny Copper." She replied timidly.

"_Penny."_ Oswald thought. There was something familiar about the name... he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Ok now I have a question." The small cat said sitting up on the couch, wincing slightly from her sore body.

"Shoot." The rabbit replied.

"Uh, where am I?"

"You mean you don't remember?" He said dumbstruck.

"Kind of…" Their mysterious guest replied hazily.

"Well," Ortensia began, "You're in our house in Ostown. You came and knocked on our door and–"

"Oh _NOW _I remember but wait where's…?" A fresh wave of terror washed over the young toon as realization dawned on her. "Oh, no! no No NO!"

"It's ok! It's ok dear what's wrong?" Ortensia said her voice full of concern and a bit startled by the child's sudden outburst.

"I-I…I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" she cried bursting into tears once more.

"It's alright honey you don't have to remember you take as long as you—"

"B-but I have to! Oh how could I have forgotten!" she curled back into a ball and continued bawling in fetal position. Suddenly she shot up from the couch and grabbed a firm hold of Oswald, he staggered back startled by the sudden intensity of her gaze.

"Y-you have to listen to me th-there isn't much time!" the frazzled kitten stuttered, "Sh-she's dying! He's got her and, and he's going to take her t-t-to…to that _ROOM._ Terror filled the child's eyes, "HE'S GOING TO KILL HER! She screamed shaking the toon rabbit so hard one of his detachable ears almost came off.

"Who?! Who's got her?!

"It's that, that…DOCTOR!" she shrieked throwing her arms over her head and covering her ears in an attempt to shield herself from her own words.

"You mean…the Mad Doctor's back!?" Oswald sputtered his worst fears confirmed. The small toon nodded solemnly tears streaming down her face.

"Listen," He said as he gently lowered the kitten back onto the ground kneeling down so that the two were at eye level. "Everything's gonna be ok but you have to tell us what's going on or we can't help…ok?"

"O-ok."

"Good, now tell us what happened."

"W-well," She began, "M-me and my b-b-big sister—"

"Wait your sister? Is that who he's got?"

The small toon nodded and began rubbing her eyes in response to a fresh wave tears. "Her-her name's Ruby."

"_Ruby…"_ Oswald thought, it sounded familiar as well. Where had he heard those names?

"Alright now keep going." Ortensia encouraged gently stroking the trembling kitten, "What happened next?"

"W-well," Penny stammered. "We-we were o-o-on our way t-to the R-R-Rocket S-Station but-but HE was there a-and it hurt and th-then he t-t-took us and…" The traumatized toon fell to her knees and through her arms back over her head crying uncontrollably now no longer able to continue.

"Shhhhh sh sh sh…there there sweetie it's alright." Ortensia said as she soothingly rubbed the back of frightened toon's neck.

Oswald put a supportive arm on Penny's shoulder as he knelt back down to her level the two's eye's locking. "Listen, everything going to be ok. We're gonna get your sister out of there no matter what it takes."

"You-you promise?" She said her shining eyes full of emotion.

The rabbit smiled, "I promise." With that he scooped Penny up and placed her back on the couch.

"Now let's see about those cuts." Ortensia said reaching out to the small toon's arm with a cotton ball she had dabbed with alcohol.

"GAH!" Penny shouted jerking her hand away. "What's that?!"

"Just something to help clean your cuts dear."

"Oh, ok." She said putting her arm back out.

"Alright now let's—

"Wait!" Penny said pulling her arm back again. "W-will it hurt?"

"Well it'll sting a little a first—

"No!" I-I don't want it!" The determined kitten shouted shaking her head forcefully while clutching her arm to her chest.

"But if I don't it could get infected and then it'll feel even worse!"

"Here," Oswald said extending his arm towards the small kitten. "You can squeeze my hand if you want."

Penny looked over at Ortensia, the hospitable cat looked kind of like her. She turned her attention back over to Oswald, if you squinted you eyes and tilted your head a bit…he looked a lot like Ruby. Maybe everything really _was_ going to be alright. The young toon took a deep breath. "Ok."

"Good," Ortensia replied as she began to clean the poor kitten's cuts and gashes staring with a particularly nasty one on her forearm…


	4. Chapter 4: The Chip

**Hey! This is my last post before I go to camp, I'll start up again as soon as I can. Enjoy!**

_(Flashback Continued)_

"What was that you injected us with?!" Ruby demanded hoping she looked a lot tougher than she felt. The teenaged was rabbit was chained to a large metal chair a still unconscious Penny lying in a heap beside her shackled to the wall.

"No need to shout my dear that was just a harmless sedative." The Mad Doctor replied in a sickly sweet tone.

"D-didn't seem so harmless to me!" The rabbit countered.

"Oh, well there was also…_this_." He said pressing a button on the remote he had been holding.

Ruby let out a bloodcurdling scream as a burst of electricity erupted from her forearm sending shockwaves of pain through her exhausted body. She slumped down in her chair trembling slightly as the pain finally subsided and panted heavily as tiny beads of sweat made their down her forehead.

"_That_ as you so accurately stated was not so harmless." The Doctor said taking in the toon's shocked expression. "A small microchip implant along with the sedative was embedded into your forearm so as to avoid any…_misbehavior_. Oh and It also doubles as a tracking device" He added menacingly as a beetleworx entered the room and began unchaining her and Penny so as to take them to their cells.

"W-wait," Ruby began a horrific realization dawning on her, "So…so Penny has one of those chips too?"

"You mean your little friend over there? Why yes her body contains the same type of microchip that gave you that nice little reminder there."

"Reminder?" Ruby said confused, "Reminder of what?"

"Oh you didn't catch it? Well then perhaps I should _remind_ you again." He said reaching for his remote.

"No! No wait I get—" Ruby stuttered frantically but it was no use. The Doctor pressed the button on the remote again and Ruby let out another ear-piercing scream falling to her knees and doubling over in pain. Even after it had stopped she stayed there for a couple more seconds panting heavily as she tried to regain her strength. When she finally felt well enough to stand she attempted to push herself up from her knees but was stopped by a large boot that had planted itself on her back and had begun to push her down so that she fell flat on her stomach. The Mad Doctor leaned in so close to Ruby that she could feel him breathing down her neck as he roughly pulled on her ears yanking her head back so that she was force to make eye contact.

"Now," The Doctor said his voice like ice, "We won't forget again will we?" Ruby shook her head. "Good." He said pulling her back up by the ears and throwing her in to the clutches of the beetleworx once more.

Ruby shouted out at him with as much fire as she could muster as the beetleworx fitted her with a fresh pair of shackles and began dragging her out the door to show that wouldn't scum to him that easily

"You…you can't keep us here forever! Y-you'll never get away with this! Someone will come and find us and—

He smirked and this and rather unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a laugh, "Someone will— AH HOO HOO! You really think— AH HAHA! Oh this is precious!" He signaled for the beetleworx to put her down. "My dear," He continued gaining back his composure, "why do you think I chose you?"

"Y-you didn't choose us! We-we came in by—

"Accident?" The Doctor finished for her. "You really think that this was an accident?" Ruby felt a shiver go down her spine as fearful thoughts wormed their into her skull, "_That trap couldn't have been set specifically for us…could it_?"

"In truth," The Mad Doctor continued, "The trap was not set _specifically_ for you and your little friend there, but it was geared towards your…_kind_."

"My 'kind'?" Ruby repeated a bit taken aback.

"Yes, honestly only the most desperate of street urchins, riffraff, and city scum like you would take on such a fishy looking job application. I mean really! I didn't even try to make up a job, you could have been taking on a job to be a hired assassin for you knew!" Ruby clenched her teeth, he was right and she hated it. What toon in their right mind would take a job with absolutely no information in a neighborhood where there were rumors of people disappearing there? How could she have been so stupid?

"Funny…it's quite ironic really, almost laughable." The Mad Doctor said thoughtfully.

"Wha-what is?"

"Your little friend over there her name, Penny. The most worthless form of coinage, quite fitting I suppose for riffraff like you." He stated matter-a-factly."

"Hey! Who you callin'— Ruby stopped mid-sentence as she saw the Doctor reach for his remote and involuntarily flinched, which she instantly regretted when she saw a satisfied grin make its way across the Mad Doctor's face.

"Glad to see you're catching on." He said menacingly placing the remote back in his pocket as Ruby shuddered letting out a small, almost inaudible, sigh of relief. "Now," He continued in mock-hospitality "What would your name be?" She said nothing each one of her cartoon hands balling up into fists at her sides as she stared daggers at the Mad Doctor.

"Very well then, I shall call you whatever I choose." He said nearly choking her as he yanked on the chains that had been wrapped her neck so as to more properly belittle the teenaged rabbit. She could feel his fowl breath on her face as it sent a sickening heat throughout her body, their faces mere inches apart. But his eyes were thing that scared her the most. They weren't cold or dead or anything like what you'd think a normal villain's eyes were supposed to look like, no. His eyes were completely, unquestionably, painstakingly _alive_, practically burning with it. Ablaze with a passion to just cause pure, raw…pain until there was nothing left to do but die. And it hurt.

"Subject 17X has nice ring to it don't you think?" The Mad Doctor said in a voice that made her shudder as he through her back at beetleworx, Ruby making way towards, or rather, being shoved towards the door.

"Oh, and one more thing." He said as if they had just finished having pleasantly polite conversation between acquaintances. Ruby, unwillingly, turned around one last time to face her manic capture.

"Those chips I was telling you about…they're wired to explode if they ever leave the perimeters of this station."

**Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuun! Muwahaha! Sorry chapter is so short but I thought this would be a good cliff hanger. Please REVIEW! **


	5. Chapter 5: Brother my Brother

**SOOOOO sorry I took like FOREVER to update but after camp school started and the insane craziness that comes with it so I haven't really had a whole lot of time to write. I'll try and post faster next time but with school and all I won't be able to as much as I used to. But here it is (FINALLY!) sorry about the delay. Enjoy!**

Oswald stared hopefully into the mirror hanging above the fireplace in Dark Beauty Castle.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" He said tapping the mirror's glossy surface which remained stubbornly fixed on his retro black-and-white complexion. He had left Ortensia back in Ostown to look after Penny and had come here himself in hopes of contacting Mickey. He sighed, he had been at it for about half an hour now and still nothing. Sometimes the mirror worked just fine he Mickey would talk for hours and others he could just swear he saw glimpses of his younger brother in the shimmering glass. And of course it had picked today of all days not to work. It seemed that nobody could ever tell if the mirror was mischievous or malicious. Neither of them had ever actually attempted going through it though, with the mirror so unstable it seemed much too risky. He was about to give up figuring he could come back later and would try to hold down the fort as best he could till then when he thought he saw something move in the glass. Curious Oswald turned back around, if he had had a heart it would have leapt as he did so as he instantly recognized the source of the movement.

"Took you long enough." The rabbit said in fake annoyance a wide grin spreading across his face.

(Mickey's P.O.V.)

"Bye Mickey! See you Friday!"

"Oh, right! See you then!" A certain cartoon mouse replied as Minnie drove away and he made his way back to his house. _"Oh man! I totally forgot about Friday. What am I gonna do?! Gosh I really need to start—_ Pluto!" Mickey's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar blonde canine: Pluto, who at the moment was barking happily and had just finished pushing Mickey to the floor while licking his face enthusiastically.

"Nice to see you to Pluto!" He said between laughs as he playfully pushed the dog off him. Mickey stopped abruptly in mid-pet his ears twitching _"What was that noise?"_ He could have sworn he'd heard a faint tapping coming from his room. Going in to investigate _his _actual heart leapt when he saw his older brother in the mirror.

"Oswald!" He exclaimed happily.

"Took you long enough" His older brother replied with a mischievous half-smile.

"Nice to see you to Ozzie" Mickey said as his brother finally broke into a wide grin, "So what's going down there? Was Markus finally able to fix those projectors?"

"Well actually," Oswald began, the elation of seeing his younger brother fading as he remembered his reason for contacting him in the first place. "There's something else I need to talk to you about…"

"It's not the Blot again is it? Oh Golly what are we gonna—

"Calm down Mickey! It's not THAT bad…not yet anyway."

"Oh…right, sorry you scared me for a minute there. So, what's going on?"

"Well…" The rabbit began again, "I think…I think the Mad Doctor's back."

"That's not good." Mickey replied frowning "But what makes you say that?"

"Ok I know it sounds crazy but there was this girl that came knocking on our door all frazzled and banged up 'n what not she even fainted!" Oswald said.

"Gosh."

"Yeah I know right? Anyway once she finally came to we managed to coax an explanation out of her and piece together what happened."

"Ok, soooo?" Mickey said expectantly.

"Right, well it looks like Penny—that's her name— and her big sister Ruby were head over to the Moonliner Station—

"Hey, didn't you say there were rumors of toons disappearing there? Weren't some people even saying it was haunted?"Mickey asked.

"Yeah actually, figured it was one of the ghosts from Bog Easy making trouble. I meant to look into it but with the projectors going haywire and all I just never got around to it. Anyway they were headed over to the Station and once they got there well… that's when things start to get fuzzy." Oswald said.

"Gee Ozzie you've only just started. I don't think there's enough story to be fuzzy."

"Hey I did the best I could Mick, you try making anything out of a toddler's mile-a-minute gibberish, and let me tell you it's not as easy as it sounds."

"And it doesn't sound too easy." Mickey said with a chuckle.

"You're tellin' me!" Oswald replied.

"So what do you think happened?" Mickey asked.

"Well it seems like when they got to the Station or on the way there or in between, just you know around that time, the Mad Doc must have kidnapped them or somethin'." Oswald continued.

"But why would he do that?"

"Don't know, probably for some experiment or whatever 'cause he defiantly did somethin' to 'em."Oswald answered.

"What'd you mean?"

"Well…" The rabbit began his voice lowering an octave "I didn't what to say it in front of Penny but since she was all banged up we had one of the gremlins come and take a look at her and well, it looks like…like she's got some kind of well, _thinner_ infection."

"_THINNER!_?!" Mickey gasped in astonishment.

"It's minor though don't worry, the gremlins are confident they can cure her but, well…"

"You don't think…"

"No. No way! We destroyed it. There's no way ANYTHING could've survived that!" Oswald said a bit too forcefully, one of his oversized feet tapping nervously on the hardwood mantle.

"I sure hope so…" Mickey replied his voice trailing off "But either way I think I'm overdo for a visit." He continued on a cheerier note as he pressed his hand against the shimmering glass which immediately began to warp and bend at his touch.

"Whoa, Whoa! Hold on a sec there Mick! The mirror's to unstable, I mean it took me more than half an hour to get it working long enough just to talk to you! What if you can't get back? You don't even have your brush and what if the mirror breaks or— Oswald stopped in mid-sentence as Mickey tilted his head and gave him a look as if to say: "Are you serious?" "Fine have it your way." Oswald said in mock irritation throwing his hands up in surrender as he smiled.

"I've been meaning to take a vacation anyway." Mickey replied playfully as he stuck his foot through the mirror.

Oswald chuckled "You sure have backwards taste for vacation spots."

"What, you mean with my family?" The younger of the two brothers replied as Oswald smiled. As Mickey pulled his last hand through the mirror the two brothers watched in astonishment as the brush materialized in his hand.

"Well hot dog!" The mouse exclaimed.

"That works." Oswald with a smile, shrugging his shoulders. "At least SOMETHING'S going right today." The two jumped off the mantelpiece atop the fireplace landing on the floor with a resounding thud. "You know what else was strange?" The rabbit continued, "Markus came by too, said he knew Penny from somewhere."

"Really?" Mickey asked "Where?"

"Didn't stay long enough to find out." Oswald replied.

"Oh, ok. So where to first?" The mouse inquired.

"Figured we'd head over to the Station, see if the Doc's still there."

"Sounds like a plan."

**Yeah, sorry this chapter's kind of slow but next one should be pretty action-packed. Also I'm thinking of doing a romancey thing between Markus and Ruby but it's kind of late in the game so I'm open to suggestions. Don't know if you caught it but Ruby (Red) and Penny (Copper) have a sort of Katniss-Prim relationship so guess what that'll make Markus! And yes, there may be bread.**


End file.
